imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Got any tips for growing echinacea

I have tried to grow echinacea from seed before, I put the seeds in the frig and even in the freezer and they still failed to germinate. Do you think it might work if I put the seeds in a moist paper towel in a bag and then put that in the refrigerator?. Do the seeds need light or dark to germinate?


I did buy 2 echinacea plants (yellow), and they bloomed for a while then the flowers dried up and the the leaves turned black over the last two months. Now, there are some new leaves sprouting . Is this normal? Echinacea is a zone 2-9 plant and I live in zone 12a. I can usually grow most zone 9 plants, but zone 8 plants struggle in summer.

My average temps are 59-90 throughout the year. Ave day lengths 11-14 hours. Humidity 80% or better. It is dry if the humidity is 67%. I have two seasons, wet and dry.

Should I plant the echinacea in the ground or leave it in a pot so I can move it around? Do I plant it where it will get morning sun or is all day sun o.k.?

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Ooh I hope SusanW will help you with her expertise, but from what I know, if you had been just putting the _seeds_ in the fridge, it should definitely help to cold stratefy in moistened environment. This can be paper towel or sterile potting medium in ziplock or sealable container, or actually sown in community pots with drainage holes and placed in produce or other plastic bags.

I think it’s normal for the spent flowerstalk to brown/turn black, but it could be a sign of overwatering. Mine did that too, but it was during fall rains when the roof raingutter got blocked and overflowed/flooded the flowerbed, then frost came, so I won’t know if they will come back until spring. But it sounds like yours made it through.

My echinacea are in midday sun only location with dappled tree shade in the morning and house shadow after 4PM. They are not blooming as profusely as my neighbor’s planted in south facing exposure.

...I’m going to start harvesting whole plants including roots from my oldest to make tinctures. I have to wonder if growing in container is a good idea... maybe if sufficiently large container to accommodate the root system....?

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

applestar is right. Just putting seeds in cold storage does not count as cold stratifying them. For cold stratifying, the seeds have to be planted in moist potting mix. Put them in moist potting mix in a little pot. Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap to hold the moisture in and then put it in the fridge. The moist paper towel in a plastic bag is an alternative, but personally I like potting it up better. Then when it is time, you can just bring the pot out, without disturbing the seeds/roots.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I'll try that. I don't have a lot of frig space and I don't have an outdoor frig so I am going to try the moist paper towel first to get the seeds sprouted. If that doesn't work, then I might try some moist potting mix in a zip loc and see if that fares better. I don't know if I can make space for a pot. I can barely keep the refrigerator door shut sometimes and I tape the door shut.



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